


A Complete Misunderstanding

by NateTheWolf



Category: Doctor Who, Trust Me (TV 2017)
Genre: Cath Hardacre/Ally Sutton, F/F, Fluff, Hospitals, Humour, Misunderstandings, Tad bit of angst near the end, mentions of dementia
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-29
Updated: 2019-06-07
Packaged: 2020-03-26 15:03:37
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 9,271
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19008220
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NateTheWolf/pseuds/NateTheWolf
Summary: A twenty minute event happening in five chapters basically.A little funny thing I thought of including Cath/Ally from BBC's Trust Me because I surprisingly liked that show.





	1. Graham

“Okay, she needs refuelling,” the Doctor said as she pulled a switch, the TARDIS doors opening. “You guys go out, should be in Scotland. I’ll be back in ten minutes.” 

“Doc, why are we being kicked out?” Graham asked as he grabbed his scarf and wrapped it around his neck loosely. 

She frowned at him; finger pressed on an orange button continuously as she talked and kicked at a small leaver. “I’m not kicking you out Graham, I’m getting something and it’s dangerous for humans.” 

“So you’re protecting us?” Yaz crossed her arms, not entirely convinced. 

“Yes!” 

“You swear you’ll be ten minutes though?” Graham pressed as he walked over to the open doors, still surprised nobody from outside had peered in.  

“Yeah Doc, you’re not good with time,” Ryan half jogged down to the doors, followed by Yaz. 

“Yeah,” the blonde waved her hand dismissively. “Just go guys! Have some faith eh?” 

“We do have faith Doctor,” Yaz grinned up at her. “Just, you’re not that reliable when it comes to being on time.” 

“Just go!” she waved them off. “Promise I’ll be there in ten!” 

With a huff, Graham walked out first. Fortunately, nobody was outside with the area being used for ambulances. Actually, he noticed there were quite a few unused ones. He looked up at the building and that’s when it clicked, yup, they were parked just outside an A&E in Edinburgh. The Doctor really picked her locations. Graham shuddered at the cold air hitting his face. Of course, it had to be the middle of winter here too. She couldn’t have brought them to a beach in the summer, no, it had to be a hospital in winter. He was thankful he remembered his scarf as he buried his chin under it. 

As soon as the others had followed, and complained about the cold, the time machine dematerialized. He wondered how that would look on the security cameras. He shrugged, not putting it past the machine to tamper with the cameras for secrecy, then again, the noise countered that theory.

“I bet she’s going to be longer than ten minutes,” Yaz brought him out of his thoughts. 

“In that case I’m popping to the loo,” Graham sighed as he searched the entrance, thankfully finding it was only a mere twenty or so steps away from them. “Be back in a bit!” 

Unsurprisingly, the hospital was as large inside as it looked from the outside, the map being rather unhelpful with him not knowing which floor he was on. He looked at the key and noticed the blue colour part of the map was the ground floor, which he assumed he was on. Sighing, he located the toilet logo on the map and peered over the wall, seeing it labelled not that far down the hall. 

“Are you okay sir?” a rather tall young man with a beard walked up to him. 

“Oh yes, just looking for the toilets,” Graham smiled up at him, not bothering to look at his name tag like he usually did with workers. 

“Oh, it’s just over there,” he helpfully pointed in the direction he was looking. Before Graham could thank him, a male nurse called the doctor over. He bid farewell to him before walking off in the direction of the nurse. Graham merely sighed and walked over to the toilets. 

A few minutes later he walked out, frowning to himself as he cursed that there was a small line for the stalls, making him take up more time. Granted, it wasn’t like he believed the Doc when she said she was going to be ten minutes, but he hated hospital toilets. Fortunately, he had brought his hand sanitizer and decided to use it after he got out of there. He squirted a small dot on his hand, and pocketed the sanitizer in his coat. He took a rather long step as he started to walk, just now realizing how long he stood in the way of the door, as he rubbed his hands together as if he were washing them. Unfortunately, he didn’t look where he went and walked into someone. 

“Oh, sorry love-” 

“No, it’s okay, I wasn’t looking where I was going,” the woman’s voice sounded familiar. He looked up to see an unmistakable blonde, smiling sheepishly at him as she put a pen in her vest pocket. He merely stared at her in disbelief. Her expression quickly changed from apologetic to worried when he didn’t respond, looking utterly confused at her. “A-Are you okay sir?” 

“Doctor?” 


	2. Ryan

“What’s taking him so long?”  

“What’s taking the Doctor so long,” Yaz frowned as she looked at her watch. “It’s been fifteen minutes.” 

“Really?” Ryan rolled his eyes. 

“I know it’s only five minutes more," she sighed dramatically, waving her hands up in the air and back down to her side. “It’s just, well she said it was dangerous yeah? What if something happened?” 

“She’ll be fine,” he chuckled and ruffled up his friend’s hair. “She’s a Time Lord after all.” 

“It’s just what their called,” she groaned. “It doesn’t mean she knows what she’s doing.” 

“If you say so," Ryan shrugged, crossing his arms. He looked around for a little before shrugging his jacket back on. “I’m gonna go check on Gramps, make sure he hasn’t fallen or anything.” 

“I’ll stay here,” Yaz laughed slightly seeing the kicked puppy look on her friend’s face. “You’ll be fine going in alone.” 

“But hospitals are creepy!” he complained, waving his arms around for emphasis. “And filled with germs.” 

“If Graham is okay going in there, then you’ll be fine. I’ll stay and look out for the Doctor.” 

He pouted, “okay, fine. I’ll text if I get lost though? This seems like a big place.” 

Yaz glanced up at the building and nodded. “Gotcha.” 

Begrudgingly, Ryan made his way to the entrance and walked in. He looked around the waiting room, not finding the bathroom anywhere. A dark-haired woman approached him almost as soon as he walked in. “Are you okay sir?” 

“Oh uh,” he stammered, not used to being called ‘sir’. “Yeah uh, do you know where the toilets are? Or seen an old man walk in?” 

She laughed slightly and pointed to her left. “They’re just down the hall. As for your old man, I’ve seen three within the last ten minutes.” 

“Right,” Ryan muttered as he looked around, noticing five elder people sitting down. One was clearly irritated and yelled to see his relative, probably for the millionth time in the last few minutes judging by the woman’s eye roll. Two were sitting next to each other, one coughing occasionally with a breathing tube in her nose, whereas the assumingly husband comforted her with a clear worried expression. The last two were men, one with a hearing aid and the other with glasses half down his nose, both talking about the TV, no doubt complaining about it. Yeah, it was pretty much useless asking for an ‘old man’ and expecting the result to be Graham. Sighing, he thanked the woman awkwardly and walked in the direction of the hopefully clearly marked toilets, if not he would definitely get lost. Ryan got to the gents and hoped he’d see Graham walk out, hoping there had been a long line or he spent way too long washing his hands. No such luck. 

From the corner of his eye he noticed blue hospital scrubs and blonde hair. He twirled around and called out to the blonde that had just walked past him. “Um, excuse me Doc?” 

The woman stopped and turned to him. “Yes?” 

Ryan froze for a millisecond before showing his complete and utter confusion. Standing in front of him was the Doctor, in blue and white doctor uniform, her ID showing her actual face, showing it wasn’t just taken like she would have done, or just use her psychic paper. The Doctor looked over him, assumingly looking for any injury considering this was the A&E department. She glanced around, seemingly trying to be subtle with her impatience.  

“Doc, what,” he stopped himself, shaking his head. “Never mind, have you seen Graham?” 

She seemed taken back by what he said, yet smiled slightly. “I’ve never been called Doc before,” she mused. “And Graham is your...?” 

“He’s my Grandad,” Ryan answered hesitantly, unsure of why she was acting this way. Maybe this is a future her under cover, sometimes she mentioned a Scotland Yard, maybe that meant undercover work in Scotland? She did mention her lack of appearing in linear time and would sometimes be from the future. Maybe this is her? He shook his head at the thought before he got lost in it, and decided to indulge her in this odd disguise. “He said he was going to the bathroom...” 

“Mister O’Brien?” she tilted her head slightly. “He’s in his room.” 

Room? What had Graham gotten himself into? As much as he would hate to admit it, and definitely wouldn’t to him, he started to worry about his Grandad, well, step, but he was never one for technicalities. “Can you show me?” 

“Sure,” the Doctor smiled, clearly sensing the panic the young lad was experiencing. She turned on her heal and gestured for him to follow her. “Right this way Mr...” 

“Sinclair. Step-Grandad.” 

“Ah, okay then Mr. Sinclair,” she smiled once he appeared at her side, his steps considerably larger than hers in the panic he was in, as well as him being almost a foot taller than him. “Is your Nan going to come by?” 

“She died,” he replied slowly, still unsure of how to take this Doctor. She would never intentionally hurt him by bringing up Grace, and God knows she wouldn’t in front of Graham. Would she? The blonde visibly tensed up and rambled an apology, as she did, he stopped abruptly and looked over her. The only difference he could see was the clothing. “Doctor-” 

“Please call me Ally,” she beamed, obviously trying a friendly approach once she realized she hurt the boy. Yet he could see a bit of pain behind it. Had she, whoever this persona was, lost someone recently.  

Maybe she had? Maybe it was someone on some alien planet she couldn’t save. Maybe she was undercover as a Doctor because she wanted to help people after that incident. He knew first hand that she would cling onto her fam and try to help in any way she could when that happened, followed by moments of self-loathing that usually Yaz or Graham would help with. When it came to stuff like that Ryan didn’t know what to do, all he was good for was a hug to cover her petite body when she needed comfort. He still remembered the time the blonde had latched onto Yaz for a few hours, not letting her go until she had to go to work, a kicked puppy expression plastered on her face. He had caught her crying that night and offered a shoulder to cry on. He didn’t ask any questions, just sat there and let his t-shirt get damp. She apologized and said she would clean it straight away, to which he refused. It didn’t go well. Despite not needing to, she wanted to pay him back, make him happy after he did ‘so much’ for her. The next day she was back to her old self but left a note on Ryan’s bed apologizing for everything, which was unnecessary, but there wasn’t much he could have done to convince her, so he just accepted it and told her anytime the next time they were alone. 

“Sinclair?” the Doctor waved a hand slowly in front of his face. “Still with us?” 

“Oh,” he got pulled out of his day dream. “Yeah, yeah, sorry.” 

“It’s okay,” she smiled as she carried on walking. “It’s not far.” 

Ryan merely nodded and followed. This version of the Doctor was strange. He guessed she’d explain everything once they were in the privacy of Graham’s room. No such luck.  

After a five-minute walk they arrived at the room he was supposedly located in. He glanced at the number thirteen on the wall by the door, knowing he’d have to text Yaz the location sooner or later. He opted for later. The Doctor, in quite the literal sense now, opened the door and let Ryan inside after telling ‘Mr. O’Brien’ he had a visitor. Before he heard the word ‘Doc’ come out of his Grandad’s mouth he went silent and then moved to get up from the bed. Luckily, he was still dressed in his own clothes and looked well. Ryan quickly looked over him for any signs of injury, sighing in relief when he saw none. 

“Ryan, what are you doing here?” 

“He came to see you,” the Doctor, otherwise known as Ally Ryan reminded himself, said calmly. 

“Find me more like,” he huffed. “Ryan, the Doc reckons I have dementia and won’t let me leave!” 

“Again Mr. O’Brien, Ally is fine.” 

“And this Ally thing, Doc really? Of all the name’s you could have chosen?” 

Ryan noticed the blonde tense up at that, but she merely sighed. “I don’t know what you two mean by Doc-” 

“Gramps, maybe you should get to bed,” Ryan stepped forward, awkwardly guiding him back. Irritated he did so and muttered something about dementia. 

“So, you definitely know each other,” Ally smiled up at them, edging back towards the door. “If you need me just call, I’ll be around.” 

“Slow day then?” Ryan prompted as he eyed her suspiciously, hoping he’d see something that showed her being hesitant with her answers. Something that would prove that was their Doctor. 

“Yeah,” she laughed slightly, clearly wanting to leave. Maybe it was what Graham said? Maybe that had snapped her back to reality. “See you around gentlemen.” 

“Ryan, you can’t believe that the Doc thinks I have dementia, right?” Graham hushed out. 

“It would explain why she dropped us off at the hospital,” he smirked, which lead to an unamused Graham giving him daggers. He just laughed and raised his hands in surrender. “Just joking Gramps. But seriously, she may be under cover, probably a future her? Did you see her when you said about choosing the name Ally? Maybe she doesn’t want her cover blown.” 

“She could have at least told us,” he huffed, crossing his arms. “Or made us join in like that Kerblam thing.” 

“Didn’t Yaz almost die there?” 

“This is a human hospital in Scotland Ryan, I don’t think Yaz would be at risk of being blown up by bubble wrap!” 

“Speaking of her, she’s waiting for the Doctor,” Ryan got out his mobile. “I’ll go get her.” 

“You sure you can navigate your way through this place?” Graham raised a brow. “Even I can’t remember the way back.” 

“Must be the dementia-” 

“I don’t have bloody dementia!” 

Ryan laughed as he texted Yaz. “What made her think you had that anyway?” 

“I talked about the Doc and the TARDIS,” he rolled his eyes. “Then I got confused about time so she thought I had early onset dementia or something.” 

“Plus side you get to lie down in a bed rather than stand outside in the cold.” 

“I guess,” Graham shuffled. “Not that comfortable, mind you.” 

“Hospital beds never are,” Ryan rolled his eyes and looked down at his phone once it vibrated. “Right, I’ll meet up with Yaz and we’ll bust you out of here, ‘kay Grandad?” 

“Fine,” he grumbled as he slowly lied down on the uncomfortable bed. “Be quick hey?” 

“Yeah,” he smiled slightly as he walked out, and then peered his head through the door. “Maybe don’t push the Doc? She clearly has a reason for this yeah?” 

“Sure...” 

“Be back in a bit then,” he smiled as he disappeared. Once he looked around, he realized he didn’t know which way he came from, with the walls and floors being identical to each side. He sighed and opted for left. Yup, he was going to get lost. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeah there are a few sad points but hopefully I made it up with the humour!


	3. Yasmin

“C’mon Doctor,” Yaz mumbled to herself as she tapped her foot impatiently, worry evident in her features. She glanced down at her watch, her friend now ten minutes late. Usually, it wouldn’t worry her. But this being the Doctor, after apparently going somewhere dangerous, she ought to be worried. Her thoughts didn’t ease when she felt her phone buzz. She anxiously opened the text, hoping it was from her, yet also not. She sighed once she saw it was Ryan who had text her.

_ Ryan: Come inside, I’ll meet you at the toilets. _

She rolled her eyes and went to pocket her phone, but it buzzed again.

_ Ryan: Okay no, that sounded weird. Just meet by the entrance I’ll explain later. _

Laughing slightly, she decided to respond.

_ Yaz: Yes, it did. Explain what? I need to wait for the Doctor. _

_ Ryan: Exactly, now come on. _

_ Yaz: Exactly what? _

_ Ryan: Just get in here. _

Sighing, she pocketed her phone before one last glance around. No sign of her. Yaz groaned and decided to give in, taking a few brisk steps to the entrance of the large building. Immediately she noticed Ryan walking towards her. 

“C’mon, we need to get to Gramps,” he said as he lightly grabbed her arm.

“What happened to Graham?” she asked as she was led down the hall, purposely catching up to her taller friend after they got a question look from a  passerby or two. “ Y’know if the Doctor gets here-”

“About her,” he muttered as they just made it past the toilets, officially letting go of her. “Seems there was a reason she dropped us off here.”

“What?” Yaz stopped. “What do you mean Ryan?”

“Why don’t you ask her yourself,” he whispered as he gestured to a certain blonde. Her head was down, wiping her hands to flatten any creases in her uniform, seemingly nervous from where Yaz stood. Before Yaz could comprehend what was happening Ryan called her over. “Hey Doc.”

She looked up, clearly a bit unsettled about seeing him, but smiled at him anyway. “Hey, Ryan isn’t it? Is everything okay with Mr. O’Brien?”

“Wha-”

“Yes,” Ryan interrupted her. “Everything’s okay. My friend Yaz wanted to ask you some questions.”

The blonde, who looked like the Doctor in every single way, turned her attention to the young officer. “Yaz I assume.”

“Uh, y-yes,” she stammered, a bit hurt by the unfamiliar tone the woman used when she addressed her. It was clear that Ryan though she could get the Doctor to snap out of whatever charade she was playing. “Um, what’s your name?”

The woman looked a bit perturbed by that, but continued to smile as she held up her ID from around her neck. “Doctor Allison Sutton. May I know why you’re asking?”

Yaz examined the card, noticing there was nothing out of ordinary. Her picture was a normal front facing profile of the blonde, even the eyes were exactly the same. The order of the name, title, and date of birth was normal. No signs of fraud. She had a fair amount of experiencing when identifying fake ID cards from underage drinkers and drivers. When she looked up at the doctor, she noticed she had held her breath until Yaz looked up, forcing a smile at her.

“Is everything okay?”

“Y-Yeah,” Yaz smiled. “Um, sorry, this may seem like a stupid question but how did you get to be a Doctor?”

“May I ask why you’re asking these questions that I don’t have time for?” she frowned slightly, clearly a bit defensive on the topic. That peaked Yaz’s interest. “Sorry,” she sighed. “Long day.”

“Thought you said it was a slow day?” Ryan questioned, crossing his arms.

“Yeah,” she said as politely as she seemed to manage, but with a bit of an edge to it Yaz noted. She didn’t seem to like Ryan that much. “Still long though.”

Even her accent was the same, but there was something off about her that Yaz just couldn’t put her finger on. “Sorry Dr. Sutton, but can you ple-”

“I’m sorry but I really should get going,” she smiled slightly as she walked off.

Panicking, Yaz did the only thing she could think of. She twirled on her heal and grabbed her wallet from her jeans pocket, flipping it open to reveal her police ID. “Sutton stop, police!”

The woman froze. Yaz saw her tense up, and she thanked any deity that was listening that she didn’t shout it loud enough for anyone else to hear, if not for her and Ryan’s sake, then for the Doctor. She skipped over to stand in front of the woman, noticing her trembling hands before she looked up at her.

“W-Was there something wrong with my ID?” she asked timidly, avoiding eye contact. “You don’t look like police Miss...?”

“Khan. PC Yasmin Khan,” she held up her work ID and let the woman stare. Her sudden changes in being timid and defensive made Yaz question everything. Clearly this woman was hiding something. What that was on the  other hand , was still a mystery. Maybe she was deep undercover? Maybe there was something else? Yaz shook her head, focusing her attention on the anxious blonde in front of her.

“So uh,” she started, straightening up as she shook her hands slightly, yet still had them pinned to her sides. “Is there a reason you’re looking for me PC Khan?”

“Yes,” she smiled slightly, trying not to seem like a threat but keeping her almost commanding tone. “First, could you lead me to Mr. Graham O’Brien’s room?”

“Y-Yeah,” Ally nodded, still tense and definitely trying to avoid any eye contact. She turned around slowly and started to walk in the direction of a perplexed Ryan. “This way.”

“Thanks,” Yaz grinned at her as she followed, trying to show her appreciation for doing such a simple thing. She felt like the blonde needed it. Needed some confirmation that she wasn’t a threat. Despite this, the woman still seemed on edge, more than before. Yaz sighed when Ryan caught up, still confused by the whole interaction. Yup, this is going to be hard to explain, for her and the Doctor.


	4. Ally Sutton

“Sutton stop, police!” 

She froze. Her heart pounded in her chest. She gripped onto her trousers, hands shaking slightly as she felt them go clammy. She hadn’t realized she had stopped breathing until the girl appeared in front of her, a nervous looking smile on her face.  

“W-Was there something wrong with my ID?” the blonde asked timidly, avoiding eye contact. She looked over her clothing, and tilted her head slightly, yet tried to keep up her faltering confidence. “You don’t look like police, Miss...?” 

“Khan. PC Yasmin Khan,” she held up her work ID. When she looked at it, she noticed it was from Sheffield. Sheffield Police? What was she doing here? She wasn’t in uniform, so maybe she doesn’t know. What if she did though? Who would look after Molly? When she noticed the girl, that was only nineteen according to her ID, stare at her she snapped out of her worried thoughts. 

“So uh,” Ally started hesitantly, straightening up. She shook her hands slightly to shake the tremors running through them, yet still had them pinned at her sides clenched as if PC Khan was a physical threat. That was a very unlikely thing to happen, she thought, despite not knowing much about this girl. She seemed as uncertain as the blonde felt. “Is there a reason you’re looking for me PC Khan?” 

“Yes,” she smiled slightly, but kept her almost commanding tone like an officer would. “First, could you lead me to Mr. Graham O’Brien’s room?” 

“Y-Yeah,” she nodded, still tense and trying not to tremble, trying not to show how nervous she was around the officer. Avoiding any prolonged eye contact, she turned around slowly and started to walk in the direction of Ryan, who seemed rather confused by the ordeal. He had clearly never seen his friend use the police card to get her way. Ally admired that, knowing a few police men back in Sheffield who would use their ID’s or uniform like a badge of honor, wanting any privilege it could get them. “This way.” 

“Thanks,” the officer said as she followed, the boy following close behind. Despite how persistent she was, the girl did seem genuinely nice and caring, that she was grateful for. 

Five minutes of an agonizing silent walk later, they arrived to Mr. O’Brien’s room. When she opened it, she saw the gentleman sitting up in his bed eating a sandwich. She stopped half in the door way, enough room for the others to squeeze through, looking confused at him. “Where did you get that from?” 

“My pocket,” he said as he took another bite. 

“You’re in a hospital room and decided to eat a sandwich that’s been in your pocket all day?” Ryan crossed his arms, giving an amused look at his Grandad. 

Graham shrugged, “Making the most of being held captive ‘ey?” 

“You,” Ally started, almost lost for words. She’s seen weird in this hospital, but for some reason a man calmly eating a sandwich that was in his coat – assumingly – pocket made her lose the ability to speak. Well, that and her nerves. “Why do – Wait, captive?” 

“Wow, bad time to shut the door,” the officer giggled nervously as she did so, glancing up at the blonde. That comment made her nervous. With the door closed it was considerably darker in the windowless room. Ally subtly looked around, anxiety creeping up as she realized she was essentially trapped with strangers. 

“Yeah, captive,” the elderly man caught her attention again, glaring at her accusingly. “You wouldn’t let me leave, claiming I have dementia.” 

“Dementia?” Yasmin questioned as she stood by the door, assumingly stopping the blonde from leaving. 

“Yeah,” he said, crossing his arms. “Doc reckons I have dementia.” 

“What?” she turned to the blonde, who had not moved an inch since the door closed. “What made you think that?” 

“Um,” Ally stepped back when the officer moved, taking a step towards her and looked over her. She mentally scolded herself. She needed to keep it together, and being this nervous in front of a nineteen-year-old girl, police or not, did not look good. “He uh, mistook me for someone else and then went on about a time machine and got very confused about where we were, and I got told someone was coming in today and to put him here if there were any signs of it.” 

As she spoke, she found herself nervously fiddling with her fingers, and felt heat rise up in her cheeks. The girl merely stared at her, examining her most likely for any hints of lying. 

“About the TARDIS?” she said eventually when she realized the blonde had stopped talking. 

“Oh, that thing yes,” Ally giggled awkwardly. “Some blue phone box thing. I uh, I thought it was a strange story so I-” 

“Please sit-down Dr. Sutton,” Yaz motioned to the two chairs at the side of the room. Her tone made the doctor flinch. Frustration was evident in her tone, something that she hadn’t heard from the kind girl since meeting her, however short of time that may have been. Without a word, she followed the instructions. 

The girl grabbed the other chair and dragged it in front of the blonde, almost as if she was going to interrogate her. Sighing in frustration, she sat down, leaning forward slightly with her elbows resting on her knees. 

“Yaz going all detective mode,” she heard Ryan whisper to Mr. O’Brien. “That’s new.” 

“Doctor,” she started, ignoring her friend. Ally snapped her head up to the officer, a questioning look played on her features when she noticed the pause between the title, as if she were just going to call her it. “Ally yeah? Mind if I call you that?” 

“No, it’s okay,” she smiled. 

“Ally I uh,” Yasmin finally looked up at her, frustration, regret and what seemed like pain was shown in her eyes. “I’m sorry for this rather... Unorthodox way of handling this situation, but there has been a big misunderstanding.” 

“Clearly,” Ally frowned, glancing up at Ryan and Graham. “But, th-” 

“I’m going to ask you some questions,” Yaz interrupted, seemingly taking charge of whatever situation this was, yet her voice was still rather calm. A bit intimidating yes, but calm. “And I want you to be honest, yeah?” 

“W-What sort of questions?” 

“Generic,” she waved her hand dismissively. “Like, do you have any family?” 

“Yes,” Ally shifted in her seat, nerves getting the better of her. “A daughter and her father...” 

“Is he, uh,” it was clear she was trying to choose her words carefully, yet didn’t give the blonde a chance to interrupt. “Is he your husband or an ex?”

“Ex-husband.” 

“May I ask why?” 

“May I ask why you’re asking these questio-” 

“There’s no need to be defensive Doc- A-Ally,” Yaz sighed in frustration. Again, with them and calling her ‘Doctor’ or ‘Doc’ rather than her name. It made the blonde rather uneasy knowing she could have literally run into a trap, or maybe even endangered her daughter letting these strangers push her around, despite one of them being a police officer. “I won’t ask then. What about you being a doctor?” 

“W-What about it?” she tensed up as she sat straight in her chair, now on alert. 

“How did you manage to be a doctor? Hard work? Also, why are you up here? You seem from Sheffield like us.” 

“I am from Sheffield,” Ally decided to focus on locations rather than her occupation, not wanting to lie anymore, or slip up in her already existing lie. 

“Why are you up in Scotland then? What made you transfer?” 

“If you must know,” she tried her best not to get defensive again, knowing that just peaked the brunette’s interest. “Molly - my daughter – and I were trying to get away from my ex-husband.” 

“That sounds rehearsed,” Graham interjected as he tucked the other half of his sandwich back in his pocket. 

“Why would-” 

“Graham please,” Yaz groaned, clearly trying to hold back on a confrontation between them. “Your daughter, how old is she?” 

She frowned at that, not wanting her daughter involved in any of this. “What has she got to-” 

“Just answer these questions Doctor or tell us why you’re pretending to be someone else!” 

Ally froze. They _knew_. Her breathing increased as she trembled, leaning forward with her head in her hands. She tried to calm herself down but nothing was working. The officer must’ve noticed her outburst must’ve set something off seeing as she immediately knelt down in front of the woman. 

“I’m s-sorry, I didn’t mean to yell,” she stammered out an apology. “We just really want to know Doctor-” 

“P-Please just,” she started, tears streaming down her face as she tried to catch her breath. “D-Don’t take Molly away from me... Please, I s-swear I’ll do anything.” 

Yasmin gently took her hand from her face. The first thing that came to the blonde’s head was handcuffs. She’s going to be handcuffed and taken to jail. Her mind started to wander over what would happen to her daughter. Almost hyperventilating at this point, she shakily snatched her hand away. 

“I-I’m not resisting I-I swear just ple-” 

“I wasn’t going-” 

The door slammed open, catching everyone’s attention. Ally tried to calm down, expecting it to be Andy or Karen, hoping it to be the former. Unfortunately, it wasn’t. They all gawked at a rather short blonde in a long coat, a small machine in her hand and a wide grin on her face. 

“Finally found you!” 


	5. The Doctor

The Doctor waved her friends off before making the TARDIS move to Park Hill. She hated lying to her fam, but she knew none of them would be able to keep the secret, heck, it was hard enough for her to. The TARDIS beeped when she didn’t move. Sighing, she looked up at the machine.

“You sure this is a good idea girl?” The doors opening answered her doubts. She groaned and walked to the doors. “Might as well before I chicken out.”

Fortunately,  Najia was just outside the block of flats walking in. Finding it an opportunity, the Doctor sprinted over to her, catching up just before she entered the building.

“Najia!”

“Doctor?” she stopped, holding the door open. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah uh, just wanted to ask you a question,” she smiled nervously. “Um, can we talk inside?”

“Is it a private question? Because I’m pretty sure Yaz and Sonya are up there.”

“Yaz is with Ryan,” the Doctor waved her hand dismissively. “Um, I’m not sure whether it’s uh...”

“Are you sure you’re okay?”  Najia stepped aside when she didn’t answer. “Come in, tell me what’s wrong.”

Without saying a word, she nodded and followed the order. Over half  way to the flat she turned to her friend’s mother. “I am okay really, I’m just nervous I guess.”

“How come?” she asked as she turned the key in the lock, pushing the door open.

Not looking up from her boots, she sighed. “For what I’m about to ask you.”

Najia paused and looked over the blonde. She didn’t reply, she merely walked into the flat and talked to Sonya. From what the Doctor heard from outside,  Najia wanted privacy. Moments later she appeared at the door, smiling slightly at her. “Please come in.”

Nodding she did so and rested against the wall by the table. “So uh, Mrs. Khan, I was wondering um...”

“It’s okay Doctor,”  Najia laughed lightheartedly as she closed the door and walked up to her. “Take your time if you need. Do you want any tea or coffee?”

“N-No, I don’t have much time,” she smiled up at her quickly. As she tried to figure out how to say this, having not asked this in a long time, she hunched over slightly. “Um, I was wondering if you and Hakim would be okay with me a-asking Yaz out?”

“You want to ask Yasmin out?” she sounded rather perplexed, yet there was a hint of amusement in her voice. Squinting, the blonde looked up at her, preparing for the worst. “That’d be great, Doctor.”

“R-Really?” Now it was her turn to be stunned. She straightened up and cleared her throat. “Y-You’d really be okay if I-”

“Doctor,”  Najia shook her head slightly, a smile still plastered on her face. “You don’t have to ask us if you’re thinking of asking Yaz out. I mean, it’s touching that you did, and now she won’t have to worry about telling us, but still, you don’t need to be so nervous.”

“Really?”

“Yes!” she laughed. “Are you going to do it today?”

“I-I was thinking of it, y-yeah,” the blonde blushed, unsure of where to look.

“Then go, do it,”  Najia grinned as she motioned to the door. “She’ll be thrilled!”

“Y-You think she’ll say yes?” she tilted her head.

“’Course! Doctor I cannot count how many times she has rambled on about you, and how beautiful you are. She definitely has a crush on you.”

“She...” The Doctor paused, blushing furiously. Yaz had a crush on her? Since when? She thought back to how her other friends sometimes developed crushes on her, yet thought someone like the brilliant Yasmin Khan wouldn’t have one on her. Smiling, almost giddily, she looked up at  Najia . “She has a crush on me?”

“Yes,” she laughed. “Thought it was obvious.”

“Maybe,” the blonde muttered. “So, you’re seriously okay with us? I-I don’t think I gave a good first impression...”

“You hugging me and calling me ‘Yaz’s Mum’ for ages? It’s fine, and a lot different from the other friends of her and Sonya. Despite your behavior, I do think you’re responsible, and smart. You helped with the spider incident after all – don't tell Hakim about that though, I don’t want him to know he’s right.”

“I won’t,” she giggled nervously. “Um, well, thanks!”

She hugged Najia, almost toppling over into the small table in the dining area. She laughed slightly and hugged back. “You said you didn’t have much time?”

“Oh yeah,” the Doctor pulled back and rushed back to the TARDIS, not before saying another ‘thanks’ to  Najia , as well as a goodbye. Once she got to the console room, she flicked some switches, a happy grin on her face. There were a few beeps. She looked up at the center of the console, grin unfading. “You wouldn’t believe what I’ve been told!”

* * *

The TARDIS materialized back at the A&E, right where she dropped them off. She rushed to the door but stopped, suddenly feeling incredibly nervous. What if she said no? What if she got bored of her? It would make the fam uncomfortable if they had a bad breakup. She might lose them. Shaking her head, she slowly opened the door, peering her head through as she looked to where she left them.

Confused, she jumped out and looked around. They weren’t there. Fortunately, a man just walked past her on his phone. “Um, excuse me!”

He stopped and looked up, eyes widening slightly. “Yes?”

“What’s the time?” she asked, gesturing to her coat pockets. “Lost my phone.”

“Half twelve,” he showed her on his own. “I’m sorry, but I’ve really got to go. Dr. Sutton should be in though.”

Before she could question it, he walked off, staring back at his phone. Shrugging, the Doctor leapt back into the TARDIS. “What was the time when I dropped them off?”

She looked at the console screen, nose scrunched up is annoyance. “Great, twenty minutes late. Why couldn’t you get here on time?! You’re a time machine!”

A few aggravated beeps were heard. The Doctor sighed. “Yes fine, well... Sorry, I’m antsy okay? And now I don’t know where they are,” her head drooped down, only to snap back up. “Wait! Where’s Finder?”

The third hallway lit up. Grinning, the blonde rushed over to the lit-up corridor. The second door – also known as ‘room for inventions that I barely use anymore’ - was open. She stepped into it and scanned the room, looking for the device, and retrieving it from a small box underneath some crumpled up blueprints. She opened and threw the plastic box to the side, grabbing the small purple kids toy like  device beforehand.

“Let’s hope this works,” the Doctor grinned as she waltzed over to the console. She twirled the yellow wheel and brought out the small antenna, making the device switch on. The calculator like screen lit up as a small purple dot appeared at the edge of the screen, indicating it was where she was. “Connect it to them yeah?”

The TARDIS beeped and the doors opened. “Thanks girl,” she patted the console lightly before skipping out, closing the doors. She looked up at the building, noticing it was rather large and guessed she could get lost easily in it. Thankfully, she remembered the map feature on Finder. She scanned the building revealing walls on the screen like it was a 2D pixel game on a Gameboy. 

Bracing herself, she walked in. There weren’t many people in the waiting area, nor many nurses around, so she managed to slip by without attracting any attention. On the device three  multicolour circles were located in the corner, moving slightly once she’d turn the corner. She passed the toilets and turned left, then went up. However, when she went upstairs the circles moved to the middle edge of the screen. Sighing, she walked back down and continued down the corridor. She then turned right and found a few empty rooms, getting closer to the circles. Thankfully, nobody was in the corridor. It was actually kind of creepy that nobody was there, as well as a flickering light.

She heard muffled crying from room thirteen. Stopping just outside it, she glanced down at Finder to see that all of her fam was in there. A bit concerned, she opened the door, glad to see her fam all safe. The room was surprisingly windowless, and the light was dimmed. At least her friends were safe and uninjured, from what she could see.

“Finally found you!” Despite her joy, they looked confused and shocked. 

“Doc?” Graham stood up from the bed. “What - if you’re here...”

Confused, she turned to see Yaz kneeling on the floor by a blonde. Ah, so she was the one who was crying. Upon closer inspection she noticed she was a doctor, and looked shaken up. She was still trying to control her breathing.

“Oh, what’s wrong?” she asked as she discarded Finder on the small shelf and knelt down beside Yaz, who was still staring at her like she had two heads.

“Doctor,” Yaz muttered, looking between her and the crying blonde. “How?”

“How what?”

“How are you both here?” Graham spoke up.

The Doctor looked up at him, confusion evident in her features. “Huh? Is there another of me?”

“Haven’t you seen yourself?” he asked.

“Not in a while,” she thought  out loud . “Why?”

“Look at Ally!” Ryan motioned to the blonde.

She did so, taking in the shocked, still trembling, woman. She had  short blonde hair, like her, and a rather rounded face, like her. Oh. Did they look alike?

“Ally?”

“H-Hi,” she gulped, staring at her bewildered. “Um... W-What's going on?”

“I’m not sure,” the Doctor grinned, trying to show she was no threat. “But, why are you crying?”

Ally seemed to have calmed down with her storming in, seemingly distracting them. However, the woman had tensed up. “Um, I-I uh...”

“I may have snapped at her,” Yaz answered, looking guilty. “We uh, thought she was you and it was frustrating seeing you not be you, not know us. So I used the badge to get her here – oh, she thought Graham had dementia, that’s why we’re here – and um, may have interrogated her, in a way...”

That was quite a bit of information to take in. Yaz snapping at someone? A doctor no less. Graham, mistaken for dementia? The woman, mistaken for her and hurting her friends.

“Actually, can I ask something,” Ryan piped up, raising his hand slightly. They all turned to him and nodded. “Um, Ally, why did you think Yaz was going to arrest you?”

“Yaz was going to arrest you?” the Doctor whipped her head over to her. “Why?”

“I wasn’t going to,” she protested , raising her hands in surrender.  “I just... Okay, yeah, that’s very confusing.”

“Um, well y-you're  a police officer, and snapped at me,” she stammered, tears threatening to spill. She played with the hem of her shirt nervously. “Um, I p-panicked I guess?”

“Why would she take Molly away from you?” Ryan asked.

The Doctor noticed the woman gulp, biting her lip as her eyes darted down. “Who’s Molly?”

“My daughter...”

“Oh,” the other blonde smiled. “ That‘ s nice, how old is she?”

 “Doc,” Graham warned, nodding over to his Grandson. “Can she answer  Ryan’s question first?”

“Oh yes, sorry. Go ahead.”

“Um... I uh... I can’t say,” tears were now freely running down her face once again .

“If it makes you feel any better,” Yaz smiled gently, resting her hand on the woman’s knee for comfort. “We won’t do anything, we don’t live here or come here often. And I don’t have any jurisdiction here, so even if it’s illegal the most we can do is tell someone here. Which I doubt we’d do unless it’s for the safety of you and your daughter.”

“Yeah,” the Doctor agreed. “Can you please tell us? It might make you feel better?”

“It’s better than sticking to this false identity,” Graham spoke up. Everyone looked up at him, stunned. Even Ally stared at him with wide eyes. He merely shrugged. “What? Wasn’t it clear?”

“No...” Ryan and Yaz replied.

“Her reaction to everything? C’mon, I’m no detective but it was  kinda obvious. What ‘bout you Doc? Can’t you see she’s hiding something?”

“Well yes,” she sighed, glancing over at the woman with an apologetic look. “But I was thinking of giving her a bit of time. And anyway, I don’t know the full story of all this.”

“Can you close the door?” Ally asked, barely above a whisper, her hands clenched, gripping onto her trousers. “I-I don’t want anyone to hear...”

“Oh, sure,” the Doctor smiled slightly as she stood up and did so. As not to intimidate the girl, she sat back down, cross legged, next to Yaz.

“M-My name’s actually Cath Hardacre,” she sighed, face scrunched up in disapproval. It was clear she hated that she was giving this information up, but saw no point in hiding it. “I uh... T-Took my friend’s identity as a doctor to work here, she isn’t working anymore and is in New Zealand, so I thought it w-would be good, I guess.”

“You took your friends identity as a doctor?” Graham raised a brow. “Do you at least have a medical background?”

Cath nodded. “Y-Yeah, I was a nurse in Sheffield. They fired me b-because I told the board about the staff neglecting patients. I-I had to get a job somewhere to provide for my daughter,” she paused, catching her breath. “I-I knew I wouldn’t get work anywhere in Sheffield, so I c-came here...”

“After taking your friend’s identity?” the Doctor asked softly after a while. Cath nodded. “Does she know?”

“N-No...”

“Well,” Yaz spoke up. “That is definitely illegal... But like I said,  there‘ s nothing I can do about it as an officer. And I mean, you’re not endangering you or your daughter-”

“Unless you get caught,” Ryan pointed out, crossing his arms. “She’d definitely go to jail Yaz, you should know.”

“Ryan, bud,” Graham nudged him. “Cut her some slack, it’s all for good-”

“What about when her daughter has to see her mum in jail? Grow up with her dad if he’s even there. Was that even true about your ex-husband?”

“Ryan!” Yaz stood up. “Can’t you see she had some sort of attack and almost hyperventilated when I snapped at her? She doesn’t need this from you.”

“What about when someone dies on her watch?”

“I’m sorry, when?”

“Yeah, she said she was just a nurse?” he gestured at her, frowning. “What happens when someone in this A&E dies because she couldn’t do the operation? Huh?”

As they argued the Doctor glanced up at Cath, guessing she had already thought of these things since being here, and probably had some close calls by the guilty look on her face. It wasn’t easy, pretending to be someone you’re not. Sadly, she knew that all too well. She scooted over and put a hand the human’s knee. She flinched, which made her move away, muttering an apology.

“You’re still here,” she smiled at her, catching the panicking blonde’s attention. “That must mean you’re good at what you do, hey?”

Cath smiled slightly, “Y-Yeah, I guess...”

“May I ask about the husband though?”

She tensed, a pained look on her face. “He d-died recently...”

“Sorry to hear,” the Doctor said softly, looking at her sympathetically. “But uh, don’t worry. We’re not here long and we won’t tell anyone.”

“Thanks,” Cath smiled, wiping her tears as she sniffed. “C-Can I ask you something?”

“Is it why we look alike?”

“I’d like to know that too,” Graham piped up, walking over to sit in front the human blonde in the chair, a small smile directed at her.

“Well,” she glanced around, noticing it had gone quiet and everyone looked at her . “Honestly, I don’t know. Maybe I chose her face like I did with my last regeneration?”

“Chose?” Cath asked hesitantly, sniffles calmed down and head tilted. “What do you mean?”

“I’m an alien, to put it simply,” she smiled. “I know it’s going to be hard to believe, but yeah. When I die, I don’t really die, I just change. It still hurts and it’s incredibly frustrating, but sometime I can subconsciously choose my face or body, and I must’ve chosen you. Or  y’know , a complete coincidence.”

“You’re... What?”

“Yeah, I didn’t believe it either love,” Graham shrugged. “Apparently she was a  white-haired Scotsman before this.”

“I was!”

“Wait, you were – what?”

There was a ping noise heard and everyone briefly turned their attention to Yaz, who smiled apologetically and checked her phone. “Sorry, Mum texted.”

“ Y’know what?” the Doctor interrupted hurriedly, waving her hand dismissively at Cath, who had officially stopped crying in the confusion of there being an alien with her face right in front of her. “Sorry, but we don’t really have time to explain all of this, and I’m sure you’ve had a hard-enough day with all this happening.”

“Um-”

“Oh, also someone said to me you were here, but said Dr. Sutton, so I guess they thought we were related.”

“Doc,” Graham looked between the blondes. “How are you going to get out of here without being mistaken for her?”

“Ah,” the Doctor frowned. “Um... Long distance family? Would that work?”

“Wouldn’t they check her file for any of that stuff?” Ryan asked, crossing his arms. He still seemed annoyed at Cath for doing what she had to, but had calmed down  nonetheless .

“I know someone who knows,” Cath spoke up, a tinge of anger, sadness, and regret in her features. Well, from what the Doctor could see. “Andy, he uh, he’ll cover for me if anything goes wrong with that.”

“You sure?” Yaz asked, pocketing her mobile. The Doctor looked at it worriedly, like it was a ticking time bomb, worried that  Najia had said something too soon about the crushing.

“Yeah, hopefully,” the blonde stood up sighing, dusting herself off. “Well, you came in here with... What was that device you had?”

“Oh!” the Doctor grabbed it, a triumphant grin on her face. “It’s Finder! I used it to track down you guys.”

“You got bored one  day, didn’t you?” Yaz raised a brow, a slight smirk on her face as she looked at the clearly homemade device.

“Yeah,” she smiled bashfully. “A-Anyway uh... Okay Ca- Ally, why don’t you go first and do your job and we’ll leave you be?”

“You said you weren’t from here,” she noted as she looked around the room. “Do you know your way out?”

“Yeah,” Graham nodded, heading towards the door. “Well, I do. If  not, we have that thingamajig that the Doc made.”

“So, you’re called ‘Doctor’ but sometimes they call you ‘Doc’ even though you’re a travelling alien?”

“Well, time travelling to be exact,” she cringed when she saw a hopeful look in the blonde’s eyes. “Sorry, I can’t take you anywhere you’ve already been, it could create a paradox."

“Right yeah,” Cath straightened up. “I understand. It probably wouldn’t be good anyway.”

“Okay, Graham,” she turned to him, yet still kept an ear out in case Yaz’s mobile pinged again. “Lead the way.”

“Alright then,” he opened the door slowly, hoping nobody was out there. He turned to Cath with a warm smile, “take care love, and uh, sorry for the misunderstanding.”

“Uh yeah,” she blushed  slightly , seemingly embarrassed. “Sorry for the assumption...”

Ryan merely walked past everyone into the hall, not wanting to prolong this, or even say goodbye. The Doctor smiled awkwardly at the blonde, waved a small goodbye and followed Graham and Ryan, hoping that Yaz would be too distracted to reply to  Najia , if she hadn’t already. Unfortunately, when she turned around, she noticed Yaz wasn’t behind her and back in the room. Sighing, she passed the Finder to Graham before skipping off to room thirteen, seeing Dr. Sutton and Yaz sharing contact information.

“What are you doing?”

“Oh, well I felt bad for how we treated her,” Yaz explained with a bashful smile. “So I suggested we keep in touch in case she needs someone to talk to.”

“Sorry for keeping her,” Ally gave her an apologetic look as she gave Yaz’s phone back to her, retrieving her own. At least Yaz was off her phone.

“No, no it’s okay,” the Doctor grinned, despite the pang of jealousy that had hit her when she saw them exchanging numbers. Sure, it was a relatively normal human thing to do, and it wasn’t like she had a mobile for her to do it with Yaz anyway. It was still there though, and she didn’t like it. Maybe she should get one once all of this is over. “Just uh, I thought Dr. Sutton would want to get back to her job, and we’d like to get out of here quickly so nobody else notices me.”

“Right yeah,” Yaz pocketed her mobile again and said her goodbyes to Ally. As they were walking out of the hospital, thankfully not getting lost, she turned to the Doctor. “What’s up with you today?”

“What do you mean?”

“You have this skittishness about you today,” she replied. “And you’re in a rush to get back.”

“Well uh,” the Doctor sighed in relief when they finally got outside. “Let’s get into the TARDIS, I still can’t be seen.”

Sighing, Yaz agreed and they all followed her into the time machine. The Doctor set aside Finder and tapped a few buttons and pulled the leaver to head back to Sheffield. Amongst the noise of the TARDIS travelling, she didn’t hear when Yaz’s phone went off, and looked around to see her texting someone. Nerves as well as jealousy flared up as she stumbled over to her, unsure of which human she had hoped to be texting her.

“Who’re you texting?”

Yaz looked up quickly at the blonde, then back at her mobile before locking it and putting it back in her jeans pocket. “Doctor,” she started hesitantly, biting her lip as she tried to suppress a grin. “Did you ask Mum if you could ask me out today?”

The Doctor’s eyes widened as her jaw dropped. A blush crept onto her cheeks as she tried to figure out what to say. The truth was ideal, and there was really no point in denying it. Yet, in her embarrassed and shocked state, she couldn’t do anything but open and close her mouth as she tried to speak.

“Y-Yes...?”

Yaz just laughed and hugged her. “You’re adorable,” she kissed her on the cheek quickly. “Mum was telling me to ask you out today too, before you went over.”

“Wait,” the blonde uttered out, still flustered by the kiss and what she was getting at. “So... Y-You do... What?”

Yaz giggled, “Do you want to go out with me Doctor?”

“Y-Yeah, uh, I was gonna...”

“I know,” she smiled sweetly, still practically hanging off the Doctor.

“So, are we?”

“If you want to be, yeah.”

“Hold on,” Graham interrupted, frowning at them. “Are you telling me we went through all that – the woman having a breakdown, being stuck in the hospital, and having me mistaken to have bloody dementia – just because you wanted to zoom off and ask  Najia if you could date Yaz?”

“Yeah,” the Doctor looked down guiltily. “Sorry Graham.”

They all burst out laughing, leaving the Doctor completely puzzled. She smiled bashfully, yet tried to ask what was so funny. It seemed, by a shared look, that they all agreed not to tell her. It was unfair really, but it didn’t eat at her like it usually would have.

Well, maybe just a little bit...

**Author's Note:**

> Comments and Kudos are greatly appreciated!


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